Dhoni remains atop ICC ODI batsmen table

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was on Sunday appointed as India Test team captain following the retirement of Anil Kumble, continued to top the One-Day International batsmen chart in the ICC players ranking issued on Monday.

Dhoni with 793 points is way ahead of his nearest rival Australian Mike Hussey (776) with South African skipper Greame Smith(757) occupying the third spot.

Apart from Dhoni, no other Indian features in the top 10 batsmen ranking with Yuvraj Singh languishing at the 17th spot.

Also, Indian bowlers cut a sorry figure in the bowling ranking as none could make it to the top 20 ODI bowlers chart, which is being headed by left-arm Australian pacer Nathan Bracken. New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori and Australian Mitchell Johnson are in the second and third spot respectively.

Kiwi Jacob Oram leads the all-rounder pack, followed by Andrew Flintoff of England and Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik.

Meanwhile, India, with 113 points, find themselves in the fifth position in the ICC ODI Championship table. Australia is at the top with 131 points, followed by South Africa (118) and England (116).

Yousuf all set to join rebel league?

There was a new twist in Pakistan’s ace batsman Mohammad Yousuf's unending saga with the Indian Cricket League, on Monday. Interestingly, Yousuf left for New Delhi even as the Pakistan Cricket Board selectors decided to name him in the squad for the ODI series against the West Indies scheduled in Abu Dhabi next week.

Though PCB has termed it as a private visit, rumours about him joining the league have gained momentum. Speaking on the development, ICL executive board member Bharat Reddy said, "You will come to know about the league's official stand tomorrow."

But when pressed further, he nodded and said, "It's very likely."

Yousuf has had a bittersweet relationship with the league, with him being involved in a legal wrangle for breach of contract.

The middle-order batsman, who had signed up for the league in August 2007, failed to abide by his contractual obligations and decided to return his advance payment only to join the rival Indian Premier League. As a result, the ICL filed a case against him in Mumbai, which is still pending.

IPL threatens

PTI adds from Karachi: Indian Premier League official and former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has threatened to take legal course against Yousuf if the Pakistani batsman returned to the ICL fold.

IPL not to blame for Test clashes, says Modi

Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi said his organisation could not be held responsible if Sri Lanka cancelled their tour of England in April and May next year.

Sri Lanka, themselves a substitute side for Zimbabwe, could pull out of the scheduled two Tests and three one-day internationals, which precede the Ashes, because stars such as Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan are contracted to the IPL.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan board, who are in no position to offer their players anything like the money they might earn in the Twenty20 jamboree, are concluding a 40-million dollars deal with the IPL.

That would lead to the full participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL and the Twenty20 Champions League for the next decade.

Modi, speaking at the Global Sport Summit in London, said: "The ICC's (International Cricket Council's) tours programme is fixed seven years in advance. Everybody commits to that and players commit to their countries on that basis.

"There are gaps in the scheduling. Based on those gaps players and countries make other programmes to fill them. The Indian Premier League took into account the ICC's fixed programme and signed players on three-year contracts.

"The Sri Lanka board gave their players a no-objection certificate for three years to play in the Indian Premier League.

"Unfortunately the Zimbabwe tour to England was cancelled. The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) had an obligation to Sky television to bring another team in.

"It is always portrayed that the Indian Premier League is stopping the Test matches being played. There was never a scheduled Test in the first place.

"The Sri Lankan tour would breach the contract with the Indian Premier League."

England is unusual among major cricket nations in that good crowds regularly attend Test matches. Many believe the growth of Twenty20 tournament such as the IPL poses a threat to what traditionalists sill regard as the ultimate form of the game.

But Modi said there was room in the calendar for both brands of cricket. "Test cricket is here to stay. It has its own hard core following and we will continue to see that go forward," said Modi.

The England and Wales Cricket Board had said centrally contracted players could not play IPL cricket in 2009. But Modi said it might be possible for the likes of England captain Kevin Pietersen to get his hands on an IPL contract.

"We would love to have the English players play for the IPL. We have the top 100 players in the world in the IPL and they are the only players missing.

"The ECB has approached the BCCI and the IPL with the objective of saying they are ready to provide non-objection certificates to the English players to play in the IPL.

"But there is a big catch to it.

"The ECB are set to launch the English Premier League and the quid pro quo is that if the ECB was to release their players, then the IPL must release a minimum of 20 players for the English Premier League.

"It has to go to a governing council and the BCCI board for approval. In the absence of that approval we will continue the way we are.

"I hope the English players can participate but I cannot guarantee that."

Laxman slams another ton against Australia

Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman continued to score freely as both the batsmen piled on the runs for the hosts. Both batsmen continued to play aggressive cricket as they played some attacking shots to India past the 300 mark. India were 337/3.

The Australians on the other hand also intoduced the new ball in the attack to put pressure on the Indian batsmen, but were still to get any success from it.

VVS Laxman again got the better of his favourite opponents Australia as he scored another century against them. Beautifully stroking the ball through the covers for a boundary, Laxman raised his bat in delight for yet another Test century for the Hyderabadi batsman. India were 389/3.

Aggressive Gambhir rattles Aussies

Three days of intense preparation brought three moments of respite for Australia as India dominated the opening day of the Kotla Test after a shaky start. Gautam Gambhir led the way with his highest Test score, an unbeaten 149 that riled the Australians no end as India ended on 296 for 3.

One of Australia's biggest concerns all tour has been the non-performance of Brett Lee and the pacer sent his first ball spearing down leg, followed it up with a near wide outside off. When he did manage to hit the target, Virender Sehwag’s pad came in the way of a delivery that would have uprooted the middle stump. Aleem Dar had to make a simple lbw decision.

Rahul Dravid came out looking to play his shots, wasting no time in cover driving for three and glancing for a boundary. But he was guilty once again — third time this series — of chasing a wide delivery, and only managed a thick edge off Mitchell Johnson that Matthew Hayden caught inches from the ground at first slip. At 27 for 2 India were perfectly poised to squander the advantage of having won a good toss.

Thankfully for the home side, home boy Gambhir was in no mood to squander a golden opportunity to bat long. Sachin Tendulkar constantly spoke to Gambhir, presumably urging him to keep his concentration going, and it paid dividends. Even as Tendulkar batted freely, showing the balance and timing that has brought him more runs than any other batsman in history, Gambhir tightened his game and settled in for the long haul.

This was not to say that Gambhir looked to block everything. Rather, he cut out the risks, offering the full face of the bat to repeatedly drive the ball back down the ground through the on side as the bowlers tried to force the mistake of bowling around the stumps to the left-hander.

Tendulkar's stroke-filled stay came to an end against the run of play when he played a bit inside the line to Johnson on 68 and feathered an edge to the keeper.

Just as he had done earlier, Gambhir switched gears once more, this time speeding up as V.V.S. Laxman bedded down with some luscious strokes.

Gambhir trotted down the pitch to all the bowlers, shuffling and meeting the ball with an unhurried bat. When Shane Watson tried to keep things tight with Gambhir on 99, the fighter in Gambhir came to the fore as he gave the bowler the charge and carted an emphatic six over wide mid-on.

All through the day, Australia's bowlers had tried to get under Gambhir's skin, exchanging sharp words more than once. But more than the words Gambhir replied with strokes.

What really hurt Australia's bowlers — and once again they were guilty of bowling so short that that they gave the ball no chance to swing, conventional of reverse — were the 149 runs Gambhir piled up from 390 minutes of batting. Laxman got to 54 almost unnoticed, in good time, setting the stage perfectly for the second day.

Ambani Denies Interest in Bidding for IPL Cricket Franchise

India's second-richest man, Anil Ambani, denied a claim from Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi that he may bid for a franchise in the Twenty20 cricket competition.

``We categorically deny any interest as claimed by Mr. Lalit Modi,'' an Ambani spokesman said in an e-mailed statement today.

Modi said in an interview in London on Oct. 24. that Ambani ``is very interested and we will add one more team next year.''

The IPL, a six-week tournament which completed its inaugural competition in June, has drawn some of the best players in the world, including South African Jacques Kallis and Australian Andrew Symonds, and generated revenue of about $200 million, an all-time high for a single season in the sport.

Modi said the first season had been a ``fantastic success,'' and anticipated that the franchise sale for the league's ninth team may bring in as much as $200 million. Media reports in India said there could be as many as four new teams by 2011. Modi declined to say when the new franchise would be chosen or where it would be located.

In January 2008, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which runs the IPL, sold its broadcast rights to Sony Corp. and World Sport Group, a Singapore-based marketer, for $1 billion over 10 years. ESPN Inc. and News Corp.'s Star Sports network, which have a joint venture in India, followed in September with a deal worth almost $1 billion to broadcast the Champions League -- a new tournament featuring the best Twenty20 teams.

Auctioned Off

Modi, 44, auctioned off the IPL's eight city teams in 2008 to investors including Ambani's brother and India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. Bollywood film star Shah Rukh Khan, and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan Murdoch took part in the bidding, which raised about $724 million.

The IPL has lured some of cricket's best players by paying the highest salaries the game has seen. In February, Kallis signed a $2.7 million contract for three seasons with the Bangalore Royal Challengers, and Symonds fetched $4 million for three seasons from the Deccan Chargers.

Twenty20 is the newest form of the game. The big-hitting shorter format has led to a spike in sponsorships and public interest in cricket since the first match in England in 2003.

Forbes magazine estimates that 49-year-old Ambani, owner of some of India's biggest businesses, is worth $42 billion, while his brother Mukesh is worth $43 billion. They don't speak.